1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a needle for endoscopic surgery, more particularly, a horseshoe-shaped needle that is twisted out of a single plane.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical needles come in a variety of shapes, from straight to curved. Among curved needles, the needle may be "planar", with the entire needle in a single plane, or "aplanar", in which the point and barrel of the needle may be said to be offset from one another. Aplanar needles have been known for many years.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,359, issued May 10, 1921, to D. Littlejohn discloses a surgical needle with semicircular bends at each end, the two semicircular regions being in planes that are at right angles to each other. Thus, when the needle is laid upon a flat surface, it always presents an upstanding grasping surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,127, issued Aug. 20, 1991, to R. Troutman discloses a curved surgical needle that may be planar or aplanar, with the pointed end offset from the principal longitudinal axis. When using the aplanar needle, the offset of the tip of the needle from the body of the needle enables the surgeon to view the tip continuously, without moving her head.
Helical suturing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,541, issued May 27, 1980, to Kapitanov; U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,047, issued Oct. 1, 1991, to Yoon; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,424, issued Oct. 18, 1994, to J. Buzerak et al. Kapitanov discloses an instrument for suturing soft tissue. It has a hollow body, housing a hollow helical needle that contains a suture. The needle and suture are introduced into the tissue, and the suture is retained in the tissue as the needle is extracted. Yoon discloses a suture device for endoscopic surgery. The device is a generally helical bioabsorbable material that is sharp at one end, for penetrating tissue, and has filamentary protrusions along its length, which permit forward motion of the material but limit rearward motion. Buzerak et al. disclose a laparoscopic suturing device that includes a helically-wound needle, having a sharp point at the front end and a driver connected to the rear. (See also PCT Application WO97/16121.)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,771, issued Jun. 25, 1985, to W. McGregor et al. discloses a surgical needle that comprises a plurality of curves along its length.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,043, issued May 6, 1997, to M. Bogart et al. discloses an apparatus for forming curved, rectangular bodied surgical needles. (See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,721, issued Feb. 22, 1994, to W. Samsel et al.)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,695, issued Mar. 6, 1990, to L. Bendel et al. discloses a blackened surgical needle that is more readily observed by surgeons during surgical procedures than are conventional shiny needles. (See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,068, issued Sep. 25, 1990, to L. Bendel et al.)
The disclosures of all the above-mentioned patents are incorporated herein by reference.